Alex Poatan's rival gives Ciryl Gane advice and takes a dig at the Brazilian on the eve of UFC Casa Branca: 'Little technique'

Artem Vakhitov in victory over Alex Poatán (Photo: Instagram)

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In the final stretch to share the octagon with Cyryl Gane in the co-main event of UFC White House, Alex Poatán He will have to deal with a very well-prepared opponent. This is because the Frenchman's training has been supported by Artem Vakhitov, a multi-time kickboxing champion and one of the Brazilian's great rivals. The information came to light in the latest edition of Countdown this Monday (8), published on the Ultimate's official YouTube channel.

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According to the Russian, the psychological factor usually weighs in favor of the Pataxó Indian. For Vakhitov, many opponents enter the octagon already intimidated by the Brazilian's presence and knockout history, so they end up succumbing. He also highlighted that he doesn't see much technical refinement in his former rival's game.

“Everyone is afraid, you don’t need to be afraid… (Alex has) minimal technique, but very effective strikes. His weakness is his openings. He has a very strong attack, but his defense suffers. Many opponents lose mentally in the fight because they go in already afraid of him. You need to advance and be aggressive, then (Alex) starts to lose his way. The fight will end early. Ciryl will finish the job,” he stated.

Artem Vakhitov, the last man to beat Alex Pereira in kickboxing, gave Cyryl Gane a breakdown on how to beat Poatan 👀

"Everyone's scared, you don't need to be scared… [Alex has] minimal technique, but very effective strikes. His weakness is his openness. He has very strong… pic.twitter.com/dLY6MUE0bK

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 7, 2026

Poatan didn't mind the presence of his rival during Gane's training sessions.

Poatan promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Also on Countdown, Poatan was questioned about the situation and didn't seem worried about the support Gane received. The Brazilian made a point of clarifying that it was an MMA fight, and also praised the experiences he's had since his kickboxing days.

“Kickboxing and MMA are different sports, and I’m certainly not the same person who fought Vakhitov. I’ve evolved a lot. Maybe he thinks the guy is going to give him something, but he’s the one who’s going to be there, he’s the one who’s going to be feeling the punches. If Vakhitov is an honest guy, the best advice would be, ‘Be careful, because this guy is badass’,” he declared.